Harry Potter and the Last Prophecy
by unolimbo
Summary: Harry Potter was always meant to change the world. Now was the time to act on that fateful prophecy. Would Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, be able to carry it out? HG postHBP
1. Chapter 1

_Dear Ginny:_

_I didn't know who else to talk to. I know that we broke up, and I know what I said, and it still holds true, but… I just needed to talk to someone. If that's okay with you. If not, well, just ignore this letter. But I really hope that you don't._

Harry Potter sat back in his chair and looked out the window. Hedwig would be back from hunting soon. Then he could send out his letters. He hoped Ginny would answer him; there were so many things he just couldn't say to Ron and Hermione. They were his best friends and he loved them, but they worried about him. And if he told them how he was feeling, they would analyze him and feel sorry for him. Ginny, on the other hand, would listen without conviction. He hoped.

_I can't really say much in a letter, in case it gets intercepted, but I will do my best._

_I'm afraid. Really afraid. Afraid of what I have to do, what could happen to me when I do it. What could happen to Ron and Hermione, and your parents, and you. I don't want to see any of you get hurt._

He read over the last section. Did he sound too condescending? Was he making it sound like he didn't think they could take care of themselves? No. He was saying what he felt. Ginny would understand.

_There is so much I have to do. Some of it which I will never be able to walk away from, whether because it will be on my conscience or because I \will be killed in the process. I don't think I can do it. Hell, I barely know what it is I'm supposed to do._

_And now anyone who could help me is gone. My parents, Sirius, Dumbledore. Who is supposed to tell me what to do? Everyone other than Dumbledore and Sirius kept things hidden from me for 'my own safety' or didn't believe me when I found things. I can't tell you the number of times Ron and Hermione and I found things out and told McGonagall and she didn't believe us. But Dumbledore always did. He knew that we weren't stupid. He knew that we could have an impact on things._

_And yet… it was my stupidity that caused so much. I went to the Department of Mysteries and Sirius followed me and died. I went with Dumbledore last spring and he died protecting me. If I hadn't been there, he could have protected himself, and he would still be here!_

_I guess I feel guilty. I don't know. I don't _really_ think it's all my fault. I'm not going to go all weird and blame the world's problems on myself. It's just… maybe I'm not really up to this._

_Maybe I'll see you before I go. I'm going to try to come over for Bill's wedding._

_Yours,_

_Harry_

When Harry looked up, he could see Hedwig flying towards him. A few moments later, she landed on the windowsill, a dead mouse clutched in her talons. She showed off her prize, which Harry pushed back out the window when she flew over to her cage.

"I know you're proud, Hedwig, but Aunt Petunia will kill me if she finds any more of those lying around. Even in the garden is hard. I'm having trouble convincing her it's just cats leaving dead mice around!" He petted the bird, who nipped his fingers affectionately. "I've got a letter for you to send. A couple. One for Ron, one for Ginny. Don't let Ron know you're there for Ginny, okay? Give it to her when she's alone."

Hedwig hooted in understanding. She drank some water in her cage and was off again.

Harry wanted to go with her. He wanted to take out his broomstick and fly away, all the way to the Burrow, then on to Godric's Hollow, then to find all the horcruxes. But he couldn't. He had promised Dumbledore that he would go back to Privet Drive, and he would stay there until his seventeenth birthday, which was still two weeks away.

Resigning himself to another two weeks of torture, Harry packed up his quill and parchment and went to sleep.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Harry's eyes shot open. He was being woken by Uncle Vernon's shouts – this was not a good sign. He groped around for his glasses, and as he thrust them on his face, everything became clear again. He looked out the window and saw that the sun was barely above the horizon.

"What time is it?" He mumbled. Then he heard the hooting downstairs. He leapt out of bed and ran down the stairs and, as he reached his aunt and uncle's room, saw what the noise was about: Aunt Petunia was crouching in her bed, terrified, and Uncle Vernon was trying to grab hold of a small owl that was hooting angrily and trying to peck him.

"Pig!" Harry shouted. The owl flew over to him.

"Get that ruddy bird out of here before I do something that YOU will regret!" Vernon cried, the vein in his neck bulging.

Harry grabbed the small bird and bolted. He didn't want to be around Uncle Vernon while he was like this.

"Pig," Harry hissed, slamming his bedroom door shut, "what are you doing! How could you get the wrong window!"

The small bird just looked at him with it's small black eyes and hooted affectionately.

Harry sighed. "It's things like you that make my life so difficult here." He said, pulling the letter off of Pig's leg. His heart skipped a beat, hoping it was from Ginny, but he soon realized that was silly. She probably wouldn't have received his letter yet, and she would have sent it back with Hedwig. It was just chance that he was getting another letter from the Weasley clan.

Sure enough, the letter enclosed was from Ron, not Ginny.

_Dear Harry:_

_How's your summer going? I hope the family isn't treating you too badly._

They weren't, Harry thought. But now they will.

_Everything is going pretty well here. Mom and Fleur and even Ginny are going crazy with getting ready for the wedding – there aren't even going to be that many people! You're coming, right? Dad said that he and Tonks will be there at 9 that morning to pick you up. Just to stop the confusion we've had the last few times, they're going to use the front door. And Tonks promises to have the loudest hair possible._

Harry couldn't help but smile at the thought. That would be when he would say goodbye to Privet Drive for good…

_Hermione is here already. She got in yesterday. Ginny said she wished it was you so she'd have some competition on the Quiddich pitch. I don't think I'm good enough for my little sister!_

_See you soon,_

_Ron_

Harry read the letter again. He wanted to be there already. He wanted to be out of this miserable house and making a difference! Why would Dumbledore have been so intent on Harry staying at his aunt and uncle's for that last month? What could it possibly achieve?

Little did Harry know, Dumbledore had a very, very good reason.

There you are, my newest story! I have another HP story set after HBP, but I wasn't sure if I liked it, and I wanted to focus this one on something different. So here it is! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

There was a thunderstorm on the night of Harry's seventeenth birthday. Harry loved thunderstorms (who didn't, really), but didn't like it when the power went out. The power flickered that night, and Harry was left watching a blinking clock. Was he seventeen yet? He wasn't sure. Was he even excited? He wasn't sure about that, either. Being seventeen meant that whatever protection the Dursley's gave him would be gone. What would happen to him? Mr. Weasley and Tonks were going to be by the next morning. Harry's trunk was tightly packed already, and he hadn't let Hedwig out for fear she wouldn't be back in time. She didn't want out anyway. She merely perched in her cage, hooting softly at the larger peals of thunder.

Harry glanced at his watch, remembering it's presence on his wrist. 11:57. Three minutes until he was seventeen.

There was another peal of thunder as Harry's watch switched from 11:59 to 12:00. That was it. He was seventeen. And like every other year that he had stayed up, nothing felt different. Harry placed his glasses on the table and rolled over and went to sleep.

Thunder clapped, and Harry's eyes shot open. _That one sounded odd,_ he thought. _I'm just being paranoid._ He closed his eyes. But as soon as he did he was sure that something was definitely _not_ right. There was a shuffling downstairs, the sound of a broken window. This wasn't good. Was it just a coincidence that it happened as he lost his protection? He didn't want to find out. Grabbing his wand and glasses from the table, Harry leapt out of bed.

He was seventeen now. He could perform magic. And he was afraid that he would need to.

"HARRY POTTER, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Harry heard Uncle Vernon roar from downstairs.

Even from downstairs, Harry could see the flash of green. Then there was silence.

Lord Voldemort was in the den of number 4 Privet Drive, and he had just killed Uncle Vernon.

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Okay, I realize that was crazy short, but I couldn't NOT stop there.

No one has reviewed this story yet, so I will just continue to write it… I think I actually have some good ideas!

"I wish I lived back in the old west days, because I'd save up my money for about twenty years so I could buy a solid-gold pick. Then I'd go out West and start digging for gold. When someone came up and asked what I was doing, I'd say, "Looking for gold, ya durn fool." He'd say, "Your pick is gold," and I'd say, "Well, that was easy." Good joke, huh."

-unolimbo


	3. Chapter 3

No matter how much Harry hated his uncle, he couldn't help but stand there in shock as he heard the strange silence downstairs. _Uncle Vernon, dead. _ Harry had trouble wrapping his mind around it. But he didn't have time to think about it right now. He had to get out of there, to get somewhere safe before Voldemort made it up the stairs…

His thoughts were cut off by more crashing downstairs.

"TONKS, UPSTAIRS!"

"REMUS! BEHIND YOU!"

"BOTH OF YOU, GO!"

Harry heard more crashing downstairs. He knew from the sounds of footfalls on the stairs that he had no time to run. He stood ready at the door, his wand raised.

But to his relief, the door swung open to reveal none other than Tonks and Lupin.

Before Harry could say anything, Lupin grabbed Harry by the hand. With that, they disapparated. Harry knew he would never see number 4, Privet Drive again.

When the odd sensation of apparating went away, Harry found he was not at the Burrow at all (like he had expected), but 12 Grimmauld Place.

Harry felt Lupin's strong hands on his shoulders. "Harry, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine. Did… did he kill them?"

Lupin looked down. "Yes. I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry didn't say anything. He had always hated the Dursleys. He had always said that, and it had been true. But they were his family. The last of his family… and now they were gone, too.

"I'm – I'm okay. Can I go back to bed?" Harry felt suddenly tired. Lupin looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Go ahead," he said finally.

Harry walked slowly up the stairs, thoughts flowing through his head. If Voldemort could come to the Dursley's, was there anywhere he _couldn't_ get Harry? Grimmauld Place was safe. For now. But Harry couldn't possibly stay in there forever.

At some point, he was going to have to face the facts. He was going to have to face Lord Voldemort.

And it just might be sooner than he thought.

"Harry!"

Before Harry knew what happened, he was engulfed in a pair of arms and a mass of bushy brown hair. "Oh, Harry, we were so worried! We knew that Lupin and the others were waiting at your house, just in case, but we didn't actually expect anything to _happen!_"

Hermione pulled away from him and Harry saw both her and Ron standing in front of him, looking worried. Behind Hermione's head he could see Ginny's face poking out from the doorway. He glanced at her, then looked back at Ron and Hermione.

"If you knew that, you knew more than me."

"Harry, we don't know what happened."

Harry looked up at his friends. They were staring at him expectedly. Even Ginny had emerged from her and Hermione's room out of curiousity.

Harry sighed. No matter how much he wanted to go to sleep, he knew he had to tell them. "Voldemort killed the Dursleys. I don't know what else happened. Lupin apparated me here before they could get to me. I was upstairs."

Ron looked ashen. "And… you're okay?"

Harry shrugged.

Ginny finally emerged completely from the doorway, her hands on her hips. "You know perfectly well that's not true. We can all see it, Harry. What's wrong?"

Harry shrugged again. "Nowhere is safe anymore."

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And there is chapter 3! I hope you enjoyed it.

Seirien: I love people like you. Yay for reading practically everything I write!

Maliaphire: you too! And I'm sorry, I couldn't pass up that cliffhanger.

"A funny thing to do is, if you're out hiking and your friend gets bitten by a poisonous snake, tell him you're going to go for help, then go about ten feet and pretend that you got bit by a snake. Then start an argument with him about who's going to go get help. A lot of guys will start crying. That's why it makes you feel good when you tell them it was just a joke."

-unolimbo


	4. Chapter 4

I can't remember… does Ginny know about the horcruxes? Or is that just Ron and Hermione? Because I am having trouble writing around it. If someone could help me it would be greatly appreciated!

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No one said anything. They knew Harry was right.

Finally, Hermione sighed. "You have to go on, Harry. You can do this. Voldemort still can't find this place, and the Burrow has been placed under protection spells. It's unplottable now and everything. And Hogwarts-"

"I'm not going back to Hogwarts." Harry said bluntly.

Ron frowned. "Is that really the best idea, Harry? Hogwarts is still safe, right, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded quickly.

Harry shook his head. "We've been through this. There's nothing there for me any more. The teachers there aren't going to teach me anything that I need. Think about it. Can you see McGonagall giving me Occulmency lessons?"

Ginny frowned. "So what are you planning on doing? Sitting around here until Voldemort lands on your doorstep and you miraculously defeat him?"

Harry shrugged. "I've got some stuff to do. Homework's not really on the agenda."

Ginny threw her hands up in the air and stormed back into her room. Hermione shook her head at Harry, then followed Ginny.

Ron looked unsure of what to do. He glanced at Harry. "Erm, maybe we should get some sleep?"

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Harry didn't sleep at all. When the sun peeked through the dusty window, Harry was still trying to think of where the missing horcruxes could be. When he heard Hermione and Ginny go downstairs for breakfast, he didn't say anything. He didn't even answer when Ron rose and whispered to him to see if he was awake. Finally, in the silence of the room, Harry fell asleep, his dreams troubled.

When he woke up, the sun was setting, casting long shadows through the open doorway. Ron sat on his bed, reading. "You're awake. Good timing. Supper's in ten minutes."

Harry nodded. " Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to go back to Hogwarts?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't think you really want me coming with you, do you?"

Harry didn't say anything.

"Come on, mum will be calling us in a minute."

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"Harry, how are you doing? Everything alright?" Arthur Weasley looked tired. He had even less of his flaming red hair than before, and there was worry in his eyes. Still he smiled at Harry.

Harry smiled in return. He'd always liked Mr. Weasley and his incessant questioning about the lives of Muggles. But he never asked any more.

"The wedding is tomorrow. I was supposed to come pick you up, but…" He looked unsure of what to say.

Harry smiled again. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Mr. Weasley."

Mr. Weasley clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "You're a good lad, Harry." He said. "Now go help Ginny and Hermione set the table, will you?"

Mr. Weasley had forgotten, of course, that Harry and Hermione were both seventeen – when Harry walked into the dining room, the table was set, Hermione was looking proud of herself, and Ginny was scowling.

"Don't worry, Ginny," Harry said, grinning, "it just means less work for you!" Harry knew that Ginny's temper wouldn't agree with that – she was just jealous that she couldn't yet do magic. She didn't reply, though.

Harry, Hermione, the entire Weasley family (minus the twins and Percy), Fleur (she had slept through Harry's arrival the night before; she was still rooming with Hermione and Ginny), Lupin, Tonks, Moody, Mundungus Fletcher, and two wizards whom Harry was not familiar with were in attendance at dinner that night. It was a tight table, but Harry was happy to be there. This was where he belonged.

They were all woken at dawn the next morning. There was a lot to be done before the wedding that afternoon. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went with Mrs. Weasley to the Burrow to clean and decorate. The twins met them there and Charlie joined them later. Mr. Weasley ran damage control at Grimmauld Place, helping Bill, while Ginny, unable to do magic, and Tonks, too clumsy to help at the house, were given the sad job of helping Fleur.

"I feel sorry for Ginny," Harry said, guiding a row of chairs to the ground with his wand while Hermione performed a charm to make roses grow around a small gazebo in the garden.

"You wish she were here, do you?"

Harry blushed slightly, but shrugged. "I just wouldn't want to be stuck with Fleur."

Hermione nodded, smiling slightly. "Okay." She said.

Harry was glad that Ron was in the kitchen helping his mother.

"Do you think – do you think she hates me?"

Hermione smiled. "No, Harry. She doesn't. Not at all."

Harry couldn't help but smile as he placed the last row of chairs down.

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The wedding was a small affair. Everyone knew how dangerous it was to gather large groups. Even having Harry there was a risk – he found out from Ron that Moody hadn't wanted him there, but Mrs. Weasley and Fleur had insisted upon it.

And so, when they gathered in the garden for the wedding, the happy party consisted only of the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione, Fleur's parents and sister, Gabrielle, and a large number of Own members, all of whom Harry knew had their hands on their wands all afternoon.

Barely an hour before the wedding, Harry and Ron went upstairs to get changed into their dress robes. Fleur, Ginny, and Tonks had arrived earlier, and Hermione had joined them in Ginny's room to help Fleur with her dress and hair.

"Thank god for Fred and George," Ron sighed happily, putting on his black dress robes. Harry couldn't help but smile. He remembered Ron's horrible dress robes from their fourth year. He also remembered instructing Fred and George to buy Ron a new set when he gave them his Triwizard winnings.

When they came back downstairs, everyone else had changed into their dress robes as well. Fred and George were wearing matching dark purple robes. Harry could see that they wanted to wear something brighter, but he knew that their mother had told them to tone it down.

Ginny and Gabrielle were in matching pale pink robes as the bridesmaids, taking their places at the altar. Charlie was on the other side of the altar as the best man.

Everyone took their seats. Harry found himself, Ron, and Hermione seated in the second row, surrounded by Own members. Harry was in the middle. Lupin was beside Hermione, Moody beside Ron. Harry felt his friend leaning slightly away from their old teacher. Harry chuckled inwardly.

Mrs. Weasley was in the front row, crying. Mr. Weasley had his arm around her, but Harry could see his eyes were glistening as well.

Bill came out first. His face was cleared of bandages now, but ugly scars marred one side of his face. He looked happy either way, but Harry thought the scars looked like they were still painful.

Harry realized there had been a full moon in July. He wondered how Bill had fared. But his thoughts strayed from Bill when the door to the house opened again and Fleur walked out.

Harry had almost forgotten about her being part Veela.

She wore a beautiful white dress that clung in all the right places. It dragged on the floor and the straps snaked around her shoulders. She looked beautiful, and even Hermione didn't sigh at all of the men staring at her lustily. It was her wedding day, after all.

"That was lovely," Hermione said after the wedding, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

Harry nodded dumbly. Ron didn't respond. They were watching Fleur walk away from them towards the house…

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WOOO chapter 4!

Aaannnnddd…. There were no new reviews. Awesome.

-unolimbo


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